He Never Learns
by Wolfling21
Summary: Alt timeline to Long Before The Hawk We Know. Peter loves women, especially ones who can kick his ass. So when one of Rocket's "toys" goes haywire and brings a SHIELD agent to the Milano, Peter falls hard. Unfortunately, this girl isnt too keen on returning his feelings.. Until he gets under her skin. Eventual PeterxOC. Currently on Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

**_Author: I totally blame my pal "Big-Bad-Rocket" for this one. I haven't written GoTG in a while so hopefully my favorite A-Holes are still all in character._**

"Rocket?! What are you working on now? And why are there pieces of it all over my ship?!"

"It's called a teleporter you idiot! And those are parts I ripped off that I didn't need!" Rocket shouted, twitching his tail in annoyance.

"Why are they all over my ship?!" Quill snapped.

Rocket narrowed his eyes and grumbled softly.

"I am Groot?" Groot piped up from nearby.

"Yes I'm gonna clean up. When I'm done." Rocket told him.

"I am groot."

Rocket glared at Groot before grabbing a few stray pieces of metal and wire from his toolkit.

"I am Groot!"

"I'm not gonna clean up now! I've almost got this flarking thing done." Rocket snarled.

Groot huffed and picked up the teleporter.

"Damn it you idiot! I'm not done with that! I still gotta work bugs out of the programming!" Rocket protested.

"I am Groot." Groot scolded, holding the machine away from Rocket.

Rocket's ears twitched as the machine started to hum.

"I am Groot?"

"You idiot! You turned the flarking thing on!" Rocket shouted.

The machine hummed as Groot put it down then emitted a loud pop, before falling silent.

"I am Groot?" Groot asked, poking the machine carefully.

"Told you it wasn't done yet." Rocket said.

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Gamora turned at a sound from the cargo hold.

"Rocket? What have you blown up now?" She asked into her com.

"Nothing." Rocket responded.

"Are you in the cargo hold?" Gamora asked.

"Nope."

"Drax?" Gamora asked, typing in the code to open the cargo hold door.

"He's in the kitchen with me." Quill said.

"Then I believe there is something in the cargo hold that perhaps should not be." Gamora said, as her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the cargo hold.

"We will be with you shortly." Drax said.

"Bring a first aid kit when you do. I have found a stow-away. Who appears to be injuried." Gamora said, kneeling next to a prone figure on the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Author: for those who are wondering, this is taking place after August 2014. According to the MCU timeline, August is when GoTG took place and the events of Winter Solider took place in April of the same year. So Rain is 27. I own Rain only._**

"How the hell do we have a stow away? I scanned the ship when we got aboard and the only life signs were ours." Peter asked.

"I don't know but she is here." Gamora said, gently turning the woman over.

Drax crouched down and opened the first aid kit.

"Wow." Peter whispered.

The woman was lean and wirey. Her skin was tanned golden and her short hair was dark brown.

She wore leather pants, a tank top, gloves, boots and a long jacket: all in black.

"She's a looker, even for a humie." Rocket said.

"What is this insignia?" Drax asked, eyeing this silver bird on the woman's shoulder.

"Nothing I know of." Gamora admitted, cleaning the cut on her forehead.

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Voices... speaking languages she didn't understand.

Hands on her... two pairs. One holding her head in place while a second gently touched her forehead.

Something cold dabbed at her forehead and her nose wrinkled at the sharp smell of antiseptic.

She was injuried, not badly since she wasn't in pain.

 _"Easy... Don't alert them that you're awake yet. Try to learn your surroundings then move."_ her father's voice whispered in her mind.

The floor was cold but whoever was holding her head still was very warm.

Her eyelid lifted and a light appeared directly in front of her.

A green skinned woman was shining a penlight in her eye, checking the pupil dilation... Checking for a concussion.

 _"She's smart._ " She thought.

The room wasn't well lit and there were a few crates nearby... A warehouse or supply room maybe.

The light disappeared briefly then reappeared on her other side.

A man stepped into her field of vision, wearing a red jacket, grey shirt and black pants. "She looks Terran. Or Xandarian." He said.

 _"And you speak english."_ She thought.

There was a rustle behind her, the sound of rough fabric rubbing together and a boot appeared in her peripheral vision. Just above the boot though was a sheathed knife.

The light disappeared and fingers touched the side of her neck.

Rain's eyes snapped open and she exploded into motion, grabbing the knife she had seen and launching herself at the man who has spoken English.

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Peter yelped when his back hit one of the cargo crates and one of Drax's knifes touched his throat.

"Peter!" Gamora shouted.

"Back off!" He snapped, staring at the woman who had a knife to his throat.

"Who the fuck are you?" the woman growled.

"That is my knife." Drax hissed.

"Drax." Peter warned.

The woman glared over her shoulder at Drax and said, "Tell your meat shield to back off or I slit your throat."

"Do what she said Drax." Peter whispered.

"I won't ask again. Who the fuck are you?" the woman demanded.

"Peter Quill. Some people call me Star-Lord." He told her.

The woman scoffed and muttered, "That's worse than Iron Man."

"Are you Terran or Xandarian?" Peter asked.

"Human." She said, raising an eyebrow at Rocket and Groot.

"You're a long way from home then." He told her.

"If you say in a galaxy far far away." She warned.

Peter smirked and said, "Star Wars is still around then?"

The woman cocked her head and asked, "You're from earth?"

"Yeah... Been away a long time." He admitted.

"Well I hate to burst your bubble but Earth sucks right now. Lots of countries are at war. There's terrorist organizations all over the place. New York City and London were both the sites of alien attacks. And my organization was just deemed a national threat because people are too stupid to see the real threat." She scoffed.

"Who's your organization?" Peter asked.

"SHIELD. Not Hydra." She said.

"That SHIELD's?" He asked, nodding to the silver bird on her shoulder.

"Yeah. Name's Rain. Agent Rain." She told him, pulling the knife from his throat and tossing it to Drax.

Peter cringed and touched his throat. There was blood on his fingers, not much. But just enough.

Rain smirked and raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to say something.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Author: hope people are enjoying this. I'm really liking writing this. Rain is my favorite OC and now that she's to a point where I'm comfortable with her being, I love writing her._**

Rain gingerly touched the small red spot behind her ear and cringed.

"It will be red and tender for a few days."

She glanced over her shoulder at Gamora, who stood in the doorway.

"Yeah I figured. Just never had a translator injected under my skin." Rain shrugged.

"You do not use a translator on Earth?" Gamora asked.

"Our translators are still on computers or phones. SHIELD agents learn the language so we don't need someone to translate for us." She admitted.

"Is that where you learned to fight?" The other woman asked.

"My father taught me some it. But yeah... the rest of it I picked up from SHIELD training." Rain told her.

"You've had very good teachers. I brought you some clothing. We are close to the same size." Gamora said.

"Thanks. Are the other four always such idiots?" Rain chucked.

Gamora laughed and said, "Yes. They are all fools."

Rain dropped her jacket aside, slipping out her tank top and pulling one of the shirts Gamora had brought her on.

"Girls? We're getting close to Xandar!" Peter shouted.

"What's Xandar?" Rain asked, shimmying into a pair of pants.

"A planet. Xandarians look very similar to Terrans." Gamora told her.

"You guys call it Terra, back home we call it Earth and the other eight realms call it Midgard." Rain scoffed.

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"Welcome Guardians."

"Thanks Nova Prime. Do you have any way to contact Earth?" Peter asked.

"May I ask why?" Nova Prime asked.

"I got teleported into their ship when the raccoon's toy fucked up. And I would like to contact my friends and family to let them know I'm safe." Rain said.

"I will see what I can do." Nova Prime assured her.

"Thank you." Rain said.

"I am Nova Prime, this is Corpman Dey. He works very closely with the Guardians and I imagine for the time you are with them, he will be working very closely with you." Nova Prime told her.

"Rain Barton. Agent of SHIELD and ally to the Avengers. So I take it you two are the Guardian's handler and superior officers." Rain said.

Rocket scoffed and said, "We don't answer to anyone."

"Everyone answers to someone fuzz-face. Even a bunch of lunatics like you five." Rain growled.

"Miss Barton if you will come with me. Guardians, Dey has some information for you." Nova Prime said.

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"Sir there is an incoming message."

Tony perked up and asked, "From where?"

"Unknown sir. But the message includes and I quote: "I hope you're not shooting watermelons and wine bottles." I believe you should take it." Jarvis said.

Tony laughed as the video appeared on a screen in front of him.

"Miss Barton! What can I do for you?" the billionaire asked.

"I need you to pass a message onto the other Avengers and any other SHIELD agents you can touch base with. Tell them all that I am safe, just off the grid and very far from home." Rain told him.

"Do I get more details than that?" He asked.

"Tell Clint and Natasha to remember me during the next storm." She said.

"Okay?" Tony muttered.

"I'll be in touch again when I can. Just tell everyone what I said and keep this number." Rain whispered.

Tony nodded and asked, "You okay kid?"

"I'll be fine." She assured him.

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"Thank you again Nova Prime. With some luck the messages I left will reassure my friends and family I'm safe." Rain said.

"You are very welcome Agent Barton. And I will make sure that Dey knows you have my permission to use our resources to contact them again when you return to Xandar." Nova Prime assured her.

"Call me Rain please. Unfortunately I'm not much of an agent because my organization is all but destroyed." Rain sighed.

"It must have meant quite a lot to you." Nova prime whispered.

"Yes... Yes it meant a lot to me. Almost as much as my family does." Rain told her.

"Your family?" Nova Prime asked.

"There she is!" Peter called as they stepped outside.

"What did he have to say?" Rain asked, nodding to Dey.

Rocket handed a tablet up to her and Peter tapped a few buttons to make the text appear in English for her.

"A priestess on Xenaz-28 has started taking her rituals too far. She is abducting young orphans and sacrificing them." Gamora said.

"So it's a mission then." Rain whispered.

"If you'd like to call it that. Will you come with us?" Peter asked.

"Yeah. This... This is familiar. This is what we do back home. We go on missions to stop the bad guys and protect innocents. Or at least I thought that's what we were doing. Now because of Hydra, I'm not so

sure." She admitted.

"We have all done horrible things in our pasts. Stay with us. You can make up for the evil you have done." Gamora told her.

Rain nodded and passed the tablet up to Rocket, who now sat on Groot's shoulder. "Let's go." She said.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author: the Guardians, SHIELD, Nova and Rain's family belong to Marvel. The rest is mine._**

"Rain? Are you ready?" Peter called.

"Just a minute! Are you sure this place is safe for us to be?" Rain shouted over her shoulder.

"The air is 85% percent breathable for me and you on the part of the planet we're going to. The injections Nova gave us will cover any diseases. We'll be fine." He assured her as she came into view.

She still wore her trenchcoat but she had upgraded to Nova Corp issue leather pants, boots and vest.

Her escrima sticks were strapped to her thighs.

Throwing knives lined her wrists and a hunting knife was in a sheath across the small of her back.

"You look ready for war." Rocket said.

"I rather have more than enough weapons then have too few." Rain said.

"Wise words." Gamora commented.

Drax eyed the SHIELD logo and asked, "If your agency is destroyed, why do you still wear their insignia?"

"I like to think that the founders of SHIELD, despite the influence by HYDRA, intended for the agency to protect people and keep the world safe from threats: foreign, domestic or alien. So I try to live up to that." Rain told him.

"I am Groot."

"He says that's a good way to think." Rocket translated.

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"This place reeks." Rocket groaned.

"I think we found where our crazy priestess has been dumping bodies." Peter said.

Rain crouched down to examine one of the bodies and whispered, "They really are just kids. Most of them are even younger than my brother and sister."

"You have a family on Terra?" Drax asked.

"Yeah. I've got a younger brother and sister each. My adopted parents. And we just found out my mother is pregnant again." Rain smiled.

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"There is the ritual chamber. And I believe that is the high priestess." Gamora said, nodding to the feminine form in an elaborate headdress and almost sheer robe.

"We taking the head bitch alive or dead?" Rocket asked.

"Dead. Otherwise she'll just go back to doing what we came here to stop." Peter said.

"I am Groot?"

"He wants to know what we're gonna do with the rest of them." Rocket told them.

"They're all just peons. Once the high priestess is out of the picture, they'll probably won't be much of a threat. I say just knock them unconcious." Rain said.

"You sure?" Peter asked.

"This isn't my first time doing something like this Star-Dork." Rain scoffed.

"Star-Lord. Lord not Dork." Peter told her.

"Well excuse me your lordship but I really hope you don't plan to ask me to do your laundry or anything. Cuz that's not happening." Rain said with a mock curtsy.

Peter smirked and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Trust me. My laundry is not something I would want you to do for me."

Gamora smirked when Peter let out a whine and collapsed on his side before curling up into a ball.

"Catch up if you can Star-Dork." Rain scoffed, stepping back into the shadows and disappearing.

"I like her." Gamora said.

"Shut up." Peter whined as Drax rushed into the center of the room.

"Hey bitch! Let the kids go!" Rocket shouted from his perch on Groot's shoulder.

The high priestess turned to face them and cried, "The children are unclean! They must be sacrificed to become pure again!"

"You're nuts brood!" Rocket shouted.

A fireball appeared in the priestess's hand and flew towards Groot, who stepped out of the way.

"Guardians! Protect me while I finish the ritual!" the priestess shouted.

"What are those?" Rain whispered into her com as stone figures almost as tall as Groot appeared.

"Her "guardians". But they will be no match for us." Drax laughed.

"Keep them busy. I'm going to try to get close to the priestess and take her out if I can." Rain told them.

"She isn't human." Peter reminds her.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing I've fought Chitauri and took a pound of flesh from an Asgardian." Rain whispered.

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A hit from Peter's Quad Blasters took out the last of the priestess's so called guardians.

"Give me pendant you fool." the priestess snarled at Rain.

Rain looked the pendant, a dark blue gem the size of ping pong ball on a gold chain and said, "I don't think so."

"My gods will kill you. They will bathe in the blood of you and you entire family." the priestess hissed.

"I doubt that. I've fought against one god and fought alongside another. They aren't the "bathe in blood" types." Rain scoffed, tossing the pendant into the air.

Gamora's God-Slayer flashed and the pendant shattered.

"No!" the priestess howled, diving at Rain.

Rain grabbed the priestess by the hair, pulled a knife from it's sheath and slid it between the priestess's ribs.

"You kidnapped and sacrificed orphan children for your so called gods. There's a very special level of hell for people like you where I'm from." Rain growled.

"You have killed. I can see it your eyes. So I will see you in your special level of hell someday." the priestess whispered as the light faded from her eyes


	5. Chapter 5

**_Author: my inner, future Rain was yelling at me for not having her and Peter bond. So this should silence her for a little while. Spoilers for the first few chapters of my story: Long Before The Hawk We Know. This didn't do a great job fighting off the boredom I'm suffering from at work._**

Peter watched Rain stretch out on the couch in their makeshift living room. She had been quiet since they had left Xenaz-28.

"You okay?" He asked, sliding off his headphones.

"Fine. Not the first time I've been called a murderer. Probably won't be the last." she shrugged.

"What did you do for SHIELD back on Terra?" He muttered.

"Took down terrorists, drug lords, sex traffickers, murderers. A lot of them were like that priestess... Thought they were in the right. Or they were filthy rich and thought themselves above the laws because they could pay off people." She told him.

"Wow..." Peter said, sitting on the floor across from the couch.

Rain watched him and said, "It's not glamourous. But that doesn't matter."

"What does?" Peter asked her.

She sat up and told him, "That assholes like that are dead. And unable to hurt anyone."

"Why's it matter so much?" Peter asked.

"I was almost a victim of a man who raped and abused underage girls for fun. And that was before he sold them off to the highest bidders across the world." Rain growled.

Peter stared at her and whispered, "How'd you get away?"

Rain leaned back, stared up at the ceiling and said, "In 2002, I found a SHIELD agent hiding out in a warehouse in Dallas, Texas. He was shot and on the run from his target. I offered to try to patch him up but before I could, his target and his target's bodyguards found us. The agent told me to run, to get away but the bodyguards chased me. They caught me near the back of the warehouse. They tried to rape me but I fought them off... I got ahold of one of their guns and shot all four of them."

Peter swallowed thickly and whispered, "What happened to you after that?"

"The agent and I were extracted. We got taken to a SHIELD base so he could be treated and so SHIELD could figure out what to do with me. Some of the other agents on base wanted to take me back to my parents. But I would have killed then if I had been taken back. Once he was on the mend, the agent took me home to his ranch and then he and his wife adopted me. They took care of me and got me some therapy." she admitted.

Peter nodded to the scar on her arm that he had noticed the first time he had seen her without her trenchcoat and asked, "The bastards who wanted to rape you? They do that?"

Rain shook her head and scoffed, "No that's from my birth mother. She took a knife to my arm for the hell of it. Scratched up my face one day cuz she couldn't find any Vodka in the house."

"Damn... Yondu wasn't great but he didn't beat the shit out of me." Peter sighed.

"Yondu?" Rain asked.

"He... took me from Earth the night my mom... died. He raised me as a Ravager, sorta a mix between a thief and junker. Like I said, not a great guy. But he never beat me." Peter sighed.

"If my family died... I don't know what I'd do. I don't know what my dad would do. Mom, me, Nat and the kids are the most important things to him. Even more than work." Rain muttered.

"Nat?" Peter asked, toying with his Walkman.

Rain pulled a photo out and passed it over to him. Peter whistled at the beautiful, busty, leggy red head in the picture.

"We're on the outs right now." Rain admitted.

Peter raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're into girls?"

Rain rolled her eyes and said, "95 percent of the time."

"What about the other five percent?" Peter smirked.

"Keep dreaming Star Dork." Rain told him, taking back the photo and getting up.

"Aww c'mon!" He called after her as she disappeared into the hall.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Author: wrote it in the middle of the night. Warnings for drinking, sexual innuendos and some fem-slash. Cookies to whoever gets where Rain's "name" comes from._**

"So who's up for a party?" Peter called.

"Define party!" Rain shouted back.

"Is a party not normally a celebration?" Drax asked.

Rocket snickered from where he sat, working on something with wires sticking out from all sides.

"He's kinda right. But it's not that kind of party. I was think more of the: "let's go out, get kinda wasted and pick up some pretty girls" type of party." Peter smirked.

"I am all for going out and picking up pretty girls. Getting wasted, never." Rain said.

"C'mon Rain. You seriously can't go out and not drink." Peter pouted.

"I can too. I do on Terra when I don't have a honey, am out on missions and I want someone to warm my bed." Rain told him.

Peter smirked and said, "A woman after my own heart."

"How does picking up a woman warm your bed?" Drax asked.

Rain stared at Drax then tossed the pillow, that had previously been aimed at Peter, towards Drax.

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Rain glanced around, checking entrances and exits of the club.

"You're supposed to be having fun not being an agent." Peter shouted into her ear over the music.

"I didn't think you were so perceptive!" She shouted back.

"I can be." He smirked as their drinks were passed over the bar.

Rain sniffed hers before taking a sip. "Holy shit! It tastes just like a virgin White Russian!" She laughed.

"Never had a White Russian." Peter admitted.

"It's vodka, Kahlua and cream over ice. A virgin one is expresso in the bottom of a glass and then cream poured over ice. It's to die for." Rain told him, offering him a sip of her drink.

"That is actually really good." Peter admitted before looking at the bartender and shouting, "One of what she has! With the booze!"

The As'kavarian bartender grunted something before turning away.

"So how much do people care about gender out here?!" Rain shouted in Peter's ear.

Peter laughed and shouted, "Gender doesn't matter! It's more so what parts you're comfortable with your partner having!"

Rain glanced at the As'kavarian before shivering a bit. There were too many limbs and too sharp of teeth for her liking.

"What are you comfortable with?" Peter asked, sipping his new drink.

"Humanoid. Skin color doesn't matter. Nothing insect like." Rain shrugged as an alien that resembled a humanoid mantis walked by.

"How about something like her?" Peter asked, nodding to a female figure sporting feline features.

"She's actually not bad. Nice ass. But the fangs are a bit of a turn off." Rain admitted as the feline female laughed, showing a set of dangerous looking fangs.

"You want something that basicly looks human. Just a different color." Peter muttered, scanning the crowd.

"Yeah I guess." Rain admitted.

A flash of silver and black in the crowd caught her eye and she lifted her head to follow it.

The black was a dress and the silver was long hair, both belonging to a beautiful woman with a dark tan and hazel eyes. "I think I found something I like." Rain said.

"Hmmm? Oh damn." Peter hummed, following her gaze.

Rain got up and slipped through the crowd, following the silver haired woman up a set of stairs.

"The male below? He is not yours?" the woman asked, stopping at the top of the stairs.

"He's an associate. Besides... I prefer my playmates a bit softer." Rain chuckled, eyeing the other woman.

"I am Shima'rashka. You may call me Shima if you'd like."

"It is a beautiful name." Rain purred, joining her on the landing.

"What do I call you?" Shima asked.

"Ta-er al-Safar _."_ Rain told her, knowing better than to reveal her true name to a stranger.

"Such a foreign name." Shima cooed, stroking her hair.

Rain smirked, pulling Shima tightly to her to kiss her. She was slightly bustier than Nat but didn't have quite as long as legs. But she was beautiful none the less.

"Come back to my associate's ship with me. I have a room aboard and nobody will bother us." Rain smirked.

"I would enjoy that." Shima hissed when Rain slid her hand under her dress and up her thigh.

"You'll enjoy a lot more than that. I can promise you that." Rain chuckled, nuzzling her.

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Peter watched Rain guide the beautiful silver haired woman past him and towards the door.

"I thought she was with you." the As'kavarian bartender said.

"She's a friend. And a long way from home so I thought I'd bring her out to have fun." Peter told him, downing the last of his drink.

It burned on the way down, almost as much as whatever little fire had started near his heart.

Jealousy?

It couldn't be... He didn't know the meaning of the word.

At least he didn't think he did.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Author: yay! More writing done! Might be coming up a slight lull in writing because I maybe busy playing the new Assassin's Creed game. Assuming I can kick my other half off the PS4. Warnings for sexual talk, talk of fem-slash, and a bit of language._**

The other side of her bed was still slightly warm when Rain woke up, but it was obvious her bed mate had been gone for a while.

She glanced around and was pleased to find all her gear, weapons and money where it was supposed to be.

"She wouldn't have had anywhere to put anything she stole anyways." She smirked, picking up a pair of lacy looking panties with a smirk.

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"Hey?! Who was the silver haired sex goddess? I doubt Quill picked her up." Rocket called when Rain walked into the kitchen.

"Thanks Rocket." Peter grumbled.

"Her name was Shima. And yes I picked her up." Rain smirked, nudging Peter away from the coffee pot.

"Consider yourself lucky. All I had for company until I came back was the bar keep. Everything remotely female seemed interested in something else remotely female." Peter yawned.

"Did you hit on mantis? Or the cat chick?" Rain asked.

"No to the first. Yes to the second. And no to the question of was she interested. I think they went home together." Peter told her.

Drax gave Rain a smack on the back as she almost choked on her coffee. "Really? They went home together?" Rain coughed.

"No. The cat chick went home with another cat chick. Not idea where the mantis went. But the look on your face was priceless." Peter laughed.

"How does one put a price on the look on someone's face?" Gamora asked, ruffling Peter's hair as she walked in.

"A very good question." Drax agreed.

"Just... Don't even try to explain it to them." Peter told Rain.

"Is it like having a stick up your butt?" Gamora asked.

Peter groaned and Rain laughed while Drax, Gamora and Groot all looked confused.

"So... was she good? Because she left here wearing a skimpy black dress, heels and nothing else." Rocket asked, looking at Rain.

Rain took a sip of her coffee before smirking, "Sorry boys. I am not gonna help you create any more fantasies then what's already in those weird little brains of yours."

"C'mon!" Peter and Rocket both whined.

Drax set a plate of food in front of Peter and balanced Rocket's on a stack of parts before saying, "Be silent and eat."

"You are a mean ass humie." Rocket grumbled, clearing a spot for his plate as a small piece of metal embedded itself in the table near his hand.

Rocket glared at Drax then saw a rubber band in Rain's hand with another small piece of metal ready to piece launched.

"You heard the man. Shut up and eat." Rain said, before putting the rubber band and metal away.

"I like her." Gamora laughed.

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"So was she good?" Peter asked, leaning against the walkway above Rain.

"I've already answered that question Peter." Rain called.

"Give me a hint. Besides... I thought you had a girl back home." Peter said.

"Is that what this is all about? You're jealous that I have someone back home, even though we're currently not dating and I can still go out and get a piece of ass. But you can't." Rain scoffed, glaring up at him.

"No. That's not what any of this is about." Peter told her, hopping the walkway railing to land in front of her.

"Then what? If not your fucking ego, what?!" Rain demanded.

Peter watched her for a second before swooping down to kiss her, pulling her tightly against his chest.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Author: had this one written up for a while but been busy so haven't posted it. Still putting in hours on Assassins Creed. Warning for lots of triggers and detailed talk of 9/11._**

Rain stiffened when Peter pulled her tightly against him.

He was warm, solid and maybe just a little attractive but crossing a very clearly drawn line.

She shoved him away and punched him in the jaw, sending him staggering back.

"Don't ever touch me without permission again." She snarled.

"You deck everyone who kisses you?" Peter asked, rubbing his jaw.

"Only the ones who do it without permission. What the fuck were you thinking?! Or were you at all?!" She demanded, stepping back.

"You want to know why I really couldn't find a woman last night? The one I wanted already ran off with a silver haired woman in a black dress." He told her.

"I am so not a piece of ass for anyone to use for a night." Rain scoffed.

"You decked me for kissing you. You'd probably kill me for trying to pick you up." Peter said as he got up to his feet.

His jaw was tender and there was a rapid forming bruise.

"I don't like guys." Rain told him.

"You said you were into girls 95 percent of the time. What about the other five percent?" He asked.

"Don't." She hissed, stepping away when he tried to touch her.

"The four men who tried to rape you when you were a teenager made you this leery of men?" Peter asked.

"I've been all over the world and seen the worst the world has to offer. Drug lords, rapists, terrorists, sex traffickers... the list goes on and on. And guess what: most of them are men. I have very little reason to trust anything male. Especially not a so called re-formed thief and self professed ladies man." Rain told him.

"What about your father? Is he one of the bad guys too?" Peter snapped.

Rain pulled out an Escrima stick and aimed the tip of it at his throat. "My father is a good man. One of very few. And if he wasn't, he would be dead. You have no right to talk about him because you don't know anything about him." She growled.

"So tell me." He said, leaning against the wall.

"My father is a hero. He's spent over two decades of his life traveling the world and taking out targets for SHIELD. In 2002 and after he was sure I was safe, he took a leave of absence from SHIELD and went over seas to fight terrorism. He spent two years as a sniper on loan to the military. Fury called him back because SHIELD needed him still. The bastards we fight had gotten bolder after 9/11 and Fury needed all of his best agents to make sure they didn't get too strong a foothold." Rain said, tossing her escrima stick like a baton.

"What's 9/11?" Peter asked.

"The morning of September 11th, 2001... members of a terrorist group overpowered the crews of four commercial airline planes. Two crashed in the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. A third crashed into the Pentagon, destroying part of it's west side. The last plane was supposed to crash into D.C somewhere. But it's passengers overpowered the terrorist and the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania." She whispered.

Peter's eyes widened and he slid to the floor, staring up at Rain as the force of what happened hit him.

"How many people died?" He whispered.

"Almost 3000. Including about 40 SHIELD agents. Most of them were in the Towers or in the surrounding area. We're based out of DC but we have a lot of safe houses and agents in New York too. The rest were on the planes either going home to family or off to somewhere else." She whispered.

"Shit." Peter muttered.

Rain squeezed her eyes shut, mourning agents she had never met but knew the names and faces of because of SHIELD's private 9/11 memorial.

"I'm sorry. About being an ass and everything else." Peter added softly.

"It's not fun... being so full of anger and distrust. Going out on a mission and taking it out on the bad guys is great... But it just barely takes the edge off." Rain whispered, jumping up onto the railing above him.

"Is that why you're the way you are? Why you do what you do?" Peter asked, looking up at her.

"Me and the fuzzball." she muttered.

"That's why he likes you. You're not so different." Peter realized.

"He takes the edge off by blowing shit up. And Groot calms him down." She shrugged.

"So what calms you down?" Peter asked.

"You saw part of it last night." She told him, before disappearing deeper into the ship.

 ** _Dedicated to all of our soldiers, veterans and their families._**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Author: hey all. Just a quick check in. I promise I'm still alive. I've been very busy working Long Before The Hawk We Know, actually working and trying to find a better paying job. I'm also a little low on ideas for this story. I know where this story needs to go, just not quite how to get it there. Bear with me.. We'll get there_**


	10. Chapter 10

**_Author: hello my freaky darlings! Mommy's home! I was away for a while mostly because of lack of ideas. This one came from watching Conan the Barbarian with Jason Momoa._**

It was dark and cold, two things she hated.

There was something cold and heavy around her ankle that skittered when she twitched her foot... a chain.

Rain cracked an eye open and glanced around slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the lack of light.

She was in a room with people of many races: Xandarians, Rainers, Kylorians and multiple others she had seen but didn't know the names for.

All of them wore chains... she was in the right place.

"Are you Xandarian?" a voice whispered.

A Xandarian woman was crouched to her right and looked hopefully at her.

"No I'm from Terra. But I've been to Xandar a few times. They sent me... my team here." Rain whispered.

"You wear Nova Corps gear." she muttered.

Rain sighed and hissed, "Only so they'd bring me here. Are you Mariana Hadelene?"

"Yes. Nova really did send you." the woman gasped.

"Dey and Nova Prime herself. I'm Rain, a friend to the Guardians." Rain told her.

Hadelene eyed her and whispered, "Why are you here?"

"To get you out of here." Rain told her.

"Shaddup!" a voice bellowed.

Several of the slaves shrank back and Hadelene pulled Rain away from the bars as a Centarion appeared.

Rain almost expected to see Yondu but Peter had assured her that Yondu didn't deal in slaves.

"No talking. Or else you won't live long." the Centarion snarled.

A green skinned woman pressed close on her left and Rain squeezed her hand tightly, glaring at the Centarion until he left.

"Did you come to set us free?" the green skinned woman whispered.

The plan had been to find the missing Nova Corps member and get her out but... Rain couldn't leave the slaves here.

"Yes. What are you?" Rain asked.

"Zehoberei. I am the last of my kind." the woman told her.

"No you aren't. I know one of your kind. She is a friend. And she'll be happy to see that another of her kind survived Thanos's genocide." Rain assured her.

"Truely? Do you give your oath that I am not the last of my kind?" the woman begged.

"I give you my oath. My friend believes herself to be the last of her kind as well." Rain promised.

"We must flee this place."

Rain jerked around when the shadows formed a humanoid figure.. or seemed to at least.

The figure was a young man with skin as black as night. His hair was the same color and cut close to his head. The only bright things were his hazel eyes.

"Forgive me. I am Zantaro." he whispered, kneeling close by.

"Rain." she said.

"Shalkora." the Zehoberei piped up.

"You can set us free?" Zantaro asked.

Rain nodded and touched the communicator in her ear.

"Guardians? Nova? This is Rain. Do you read me?" She whispered.

Peter spun when Rain's voice came through the computer and Nova Prime said, "This is Nova Prime. Have you found Mariana Hadelene?"

"Yes. But she is not the only slave being held. And I will not leave the others here." Rain told her.

"How many others are there?" Nova prime asked.

"36. On my last count." Zantaro whispered.

"Close to 40. All sorts of races." Rain whispered.

Nova Prime sighed and said, "Give us time and we will be there to collect you."

Peter narrowed his eyes as Nova Prime shut off the communication channel. "You can't leave all of those slaves there!" He protested.

"We are not equipped to carry..." Nova Prime began.

"You are not! But we have plenty of space in the cargo hold of the Milano. We can rescue them and take them to Xandar." Peter snapped.

"Fine. But they will be your responsibility Peter Quill." She ordered.

"Gladly." Peter hissed.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Rain? Rain!?"

Rain blinked awake, dislodging Shalkora who was using her hip as a pillow.

"What?" Rain grumbled.

"You actually fell asleep?" Peter scoffed.

"Blow me Star-Dork. Where are you?" She growled.

Someone screamed as the door burst open and one of the slave keepers hit the ground in the center of the room.

Nova officers flooded the room and the Guardians came in with them.

"What took you idiots so long?!" Rain demanded.

"Missed you too." Peter smirked, unlocking the door.

"Come! Quickly." Shalkora cried, rushing out the door.

Some of the other slaves followed quickly while a few hesitated.

"It's alright. You're free now." Hadelene assured them.

Gamora touched Rain's shoulder and whispered, "It is good to see you."

"There's someone you need to meet. Shalkora!" Rain called.

Gamora's eyes widened as she stared at the other woman. "You are Zehoberei." She whispered in their native language.

"Yes. Rain gave me her oath that I was not the last of my kind." Shalkora sobbed, before hugging her.

Gamora inhaled sharply at the sudden contact but hugged the other woman tightly, speaking softly in their native language to sooth her.

Rain smiled at strange, quiet and eerie language but let them have a few moments.

"Who is that?" Peter whispered, joining her.

"Another of her kind. They both thought they were the last." Rain told him softly.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. The slave keepers didn't do anything except man handle me a bit when they found me." she shrugged.

"You shouldn't have done this alone. Who knows what they might have done to you." Peter sighed.

"I know what men like them are capable of. They aren't that different, no matter the race. And they didn't." Rain told him, glaring at the Kree and Centarion slave owners as they were led away.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Many of the slaves appear to have no family but we will give them sanctuary here for as long as they wish to remain. Several of them are in various stages of pregnancy so they will be kept under close watch." Nova Prime said.

"All those babies will be either half Kree or Centarion." Rain growled.

"Yes. Unfortunately." Dey sighed.

"Your Zehoberei friend is amongst the expecting mothers. Though she is barely along." Nova Prime said.

"Do we know what Zantaro is?" Rain asked.

"No. We have yet to find a racial match for him. He's told us that he was being kept as a slave since birth. Apparently he was recently sold to the one the slave owners." Dey admitted.

Rain nodded slowly, watching a medic examine a young child barely older than her sister. "Is there any news on a way to send me home?" She whispered.

"I believe you will need to speak to Rocket." Dey told her.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Author: probably last or next to last chapter before this goes on hiatus for a bit. Anyways enjoy some adorableness._**

"Rocket?!" Rain called, sticking her head into the Milano.

"I am Groot!"

Rain laughed as a vine appeared near her feet, wiggling like it was trying to get her attention.

"Rocket?" She called, following the vine as it slid away.

"In the cargo hold!" Rocket shouted back.

The vine slithered away, guiding her to the cargo hold where Rocket was tinkering.

"Hey girl. Ya did good, getting all those slaves out of there." Rocket called over his shoulder.

"Thanks. I actually came down to ask if you had fixed the teleporter." Rain admitted.

Rocket's ears twitched and he looked at her.

"Ya wanna leave?" He asked, flicking his tail.

"Yeah... seeing all those women in various stages of pregnancy and watching Gamora get reunited with one of her kind... It's all made me want to go home and see my family. My mother is pregnant... I want to be there before the baby is born." She admitted.

"I am Groot?" Groot asked.

"She is saying goodbye." Rocket growled.

"I am Groot." Groot said.

"Ya aren't saying goodbye to Drax, Gams or Quill?" Rocket asked.

"No... Gamora will understand. Someone can explain it to Drax. And Peter..." Rain sighed.

Rocket's cocked his head and twitched his tail. "He ever hurt ya?" He whispered.

"Who? Peter? No, he never hurt me. But it's probably best that I don't draw it out. Might hurt a lot less." She admitted, sitting on the edge of Rocket's work table.

Rocket put his hands on her knees and whispered, "You got people? Other than your family?"

"A team... like the Guardians. Just as crazy and dysfunctional. But good people. Call themselves the Avengers." she told him, gingerly touching his ear.

He touched his muzzle gently to her wrist and whispered, "Teleporter's working."

"I am Groot." Groot hummed, holding out a flower in his hand.

"Thanks big guy." Rain whispered, tucking it behind her ear.

Rocket pulled a tarp off a machine that looked like a small version of the teleporter that brought her onto the Milano in the first place.

"Sure about going back?" Rocket asked.

"Yeah." Rain told him.

"Where ya wanna go? To that team? Or home?" Rocket asked her.

Rain pulled a notebook from her bag and thumbed through the pages. "Put those coordinates in." She told him, hanging the notebook over.

"Central Park? New York City? What the frack is all this?" Rocket muttered.

"It's near where the Avengers are based." She explained.

He nodded and Groot gingerly stroked Rain's hair.

"Gonna miss you too big guy." She assured him.

"Alright... coordinates are set. Last chance to stay." Rocket whispered.

Rain gently rubbed his furry cheeks and whispered, "I'm needed back home. I'm gonna miss you guys though."

Rocket nodded and muttered, "Be safe yeah?"

"You too. Don't blow anyone up." Rain smirked.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Sir. There is an anomaly in Central Park." Jarvis piped up.

Tony pulled up a map of Central Park as Steve looked up from his tablet.

"What kind of anomaly?" Maria Hill asked.

"It appears to be similar to the energy that Thor Odinson uses to teleport." Jarvis said.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked.

"Not sure. But someone should run down and have a look." Tony shrugged.

"We can go." Natasha said, looking up at the catwalk where Clint was standing.

"Think two will be enough?" Steve asked.

Clint vaulted over the side of the catwalk to land nearby and said, "We can go in plain clothes with minimal weapons. Keep coms on and have back up come in if we need it."

"Alright. Just be careful." Steve told them.

"This should be a cake walk." Nat assured him.

"Alright." Steve sighed.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Fuck." Rain groaned, rolling over.

"This is about where the energy signature was. According to Jarvis at least."

Rain sat up slowly, touching her temple. Her hair was sticky with blood.

"Rain?"

She glanced over her shoulder and whispered, "Daddy?"

"Nat!" Clint called, crouching beside Rain.

Natasha appeared as Clint brushed Rain's hair back to find the source of the blood.

"Where have you been?" Nat whispered.

"In a galaxy far, far away." Rain told her.

Clint touched his com and said, "Jarvis put me in touch with Bruce."

There was a moment of silence before Bruce's voice came through the com: "What's going on Clint?"

"Need you to get ready for a head injury. Not too deep but there's a possible concussion." Clint told him.

"Natasha?" Bruce asked.

"No. It's Rain." Clint whispered as Natasha gently stroked Rain's hair.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Author: last chapter before this goes on hiatus until Long Before The Hawk We Know gets past Age of Ultron. Lots to do this chapter. Enjoy._**

"What happened to her?!" Tony yelped when Clint and Natasha came in with Rain between them.

"Concussion. She puked in the elevator." Clint told him.

"Jarvis! Send one of the bots to clean it up." Tony shouted.

"I don't feel good." Rain whimpered.

"We know milaya. Banner's going to check you out in just a minute." Natasha assured her.

Steve brought a trash bag over and asked, "What happened?"

"She came through the anomaly. And hit her head." Natasha said.

"She teleported in? How?" Bruce asked.

"Blame Rocket. Always blame Rocket." Rain muttered, sitting on the couch.

"Rocket?" Thor asked.

"Where did she say she's been?" Tony asked.

"In a galaxy far, far away." Rain groaned.

"She sounds drunk." Natasha muttered to which Rain shook her head.

"Teleportation seldom agrees with those who are not used to it." Thor said.

Bruce shone a light in Rain's eyes, checking pupil dilation before he pulled Rain's hair back.

"Last person to check for concussion was Gamora." Rain whispered.

"Milaya? Who is Gamora?" Natasha asked.

"Green skinned lady. Very sexy. But very dangerous. Used to be a daughter of Thanos." Rain told her.

"Wait... how do you know of Thanos?" Thor asked.

"He's a mad Titan. He made Gamora an assassin, kinda like they did to Nat in the..." Rain began before gagging.

"Definitely a concussion. Though she seems a bit delusional too." Bruce told them.

"Am not." Rain groaned.

"I am inclined to agree with her. I know of this mad Titan Thanos. I was not aware he had children." Thor whispered.

"Adopted. Like your brother. Like me." Rain piped up.

Clint rubbed her back gently as Bruce began to clean the blood from her hair and temple.

"He adopted children? How many?" Thor asked.

"Two that I know about. Gam and her psycho bitch "sister" Nebula. Haven't met her yet though." Rain hissed.

"What race is this Gamora of?" Thor asked her.

"Zehoberei." Rain told him.

Thor stared at her and said, "That entire race was destroyed."

"Nope. Gamora and one other girl survived. Do you know of a race with skin as black as Loki's hair?" She asked.

"It is not one I am aware of." Thor admitted after a minute.

Rain yelped and glared at Banner who held a set of twizzers in hand.

"Let him work. And tell us about the other people you met." Clint told her.-

"There's Gamora. And Rocket... He looks just like a raccoon. But some crazy scientist experimented on him. So he can talk, walk and build bombs. And his best friend is a giant talking tree. But all he can say is I am Groot. Though Rocket understands him just fine but nobody else does." Rain told them.

"Yeap she's delusional." Tony said.

Natasha glared at him and hissed, "Shut up."

"I am not delusional! I got taken aboard a ship called the Milano because of a teleporter that malfunctioned. And while I was there I met a talking tree, a bomb making raccoon, the daughter of Thanos, a guy named Drax the Destroyer and a half human who plays a mix tape of pop songs from before 1988 on constant repeat!" Rain snapped, getting up.

"Rain!" Clint, Bruce and Natasha all shouted.

"I've been gone for a while Stark. And I've seen things that would make you shit yourself. So if you ever call me delusional again, I will end you. And don't ever forget that I can." Rain snarled.

Steve glared at Tony before looking past Rain at Bruce.

"Doctor Banner. Take Rain to the infirmary and finish up with her." He said.

"Here is fine Cap." Rain growled.

Steve narrowed his eyes and said, "Take her."

Clint gentle pulled Rain away from the couch and whispered in Russian, "Come on. Leave him be."

"I wanna kill him." she hissed back in the same.

"If you do, the Avengers will lose their base of operations and funding. That is something the team sorely needs. So calm down okay." Clint told her, sticking to Russian.

"Fine. Let's go." Rain muttered.

Tony glared at her as she walked by him with her head held high.

Steve watched Rain, Clint, Bruce and Natasha leave before looking at Tony.

"Save it Spangles." Tony muttered.

"Why the hell are you so keen to pass judgement on things that you don't believe exist." Steve demanded.

"Because she's nuts! There's no way she met a talking tree, raccoon and all the rest! They can't exist!" Tony shot back.

"You saw what was on the other side of the gateway! You saw things that most people have no idea exist! You've opened your Tower to an Asgardian! How the hell can you tell me that you don't believe that other races of people don't exist out in the universe!" Steve shouted.

"Friends! Stop this child behavior!" Thor bellowed as lightning bounced across the room.

Tony and Steve yelped when the lightning raced across a countertop and hit the toaster, blender and Steve's phone.

"Damn it Point Break. You gotta stop frying the electronics." Tony sighed.

"Especially my phone." Steve muttered, picking up the charred black rectangle that used to be his phone.

"I'll get you another one Spangles. After I order us another toaster and blender." Tony sighed as he walked out the door.

Thor glanced at Steve before leaving the room.

Steve sighed, tossed the remains of his phone in the trash and left to go check on Rain.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"She's relaxing. Natasha and Clint are going to stay with her until she's out of danger." Bruce said.

"Do they thinks she's delusional? Do you?" Steve asked, watching Clint, Rain and Natasha as they sat watching a movie.

"I don't. Not really. Thor knew about Thanos, whoever he is. So there seems to be a little truth to her stories. Beyond that.. I don't know. I still have a hard time reading the three of them." Bruce admitted.

"She'll be okay?" Steve asked.

"Her scans look fine. Clint and Natasha are going to wake her up every two hours if she falls asleep. I'll check her again in a few hours." Bruce assured him.

"Keep me posted? And if Tony doesn't say anything or start working on a new Stark phone, casually bring it up?" Steve asked.

"Sure but... what happened to your phone?" Bruce chuckled.

"Same thing that happened to the toaster and blender." Steve told him.


End file.
